by: Gerald Meyer
It is great news that research has found a food that lowers blood pressure and is healthy for the heart and maybe more.
The problem is that the chocolate Americans consume most is not the kind that was studied.
The more popular kinds of chocolate have little or no positive effect on your health. Only certain chocolate may be healthy.
Dark chocolate is the chocolate that was found to have positive effects on blood pressure.
Participants, either given dark, milk, or white chocolate every day were evaluated in different studies.
It turns out that dark chocolate contains important antioxidants called phenols. These natural compounds from the cocoa bean are known to increase nitric oxide, reduce platelet aggregation, and inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Cocoa can decrease blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and increase your insulin sensitivity. Milk and white chocolate are low in these antioxidants and do not have the same effect.
The problem is how chocolate is processed in this country. White chocolate, regardless of where you get it, actually contains no cocoa at all and is made only from cocoa butter; just the fat from the cocoa beans.
It also contains no phenols. Most of the other chocolate we eat is made with "dutched" cocoa.
The cocoa beans are treated with an alkaline solution to make them dark in color and reduce the natural bitterness from the plant.
But it also reduces almost 90% of the phenols and most of its healthy benefits.
The other problem is that when made into milk chocolate, the milk seems to prevent the phenols from being absorbed and, thus, negating any possible benefit from the chocolate.
The best chocolate for your health appears to be dark chocolate. In the European studies done, participants ate 100gm of chocolate a day (100 grams equals approx. 3.5 ounces).
This is the equivalent to 2 1/2 regular size Hershey's bars.
It also added about 550 calories to their diet.
They were instructed to substitute this amount of calories from other foods they normally ate each day.
You would have to do the same or forego its healthy benefits by increasing your waistline.
European chocolate in general is healthier than that found in America due to the fact that it is less processed than ours and contains more of the heart healthy antioxidants.
Dark chocolate is an acquired taste for most Americans since it is much more bitter than its milky counterpart.
So why is this research being touted as the 'best medical news in ages'? It appears to be one more way we look to justify the unhealthy diets we follow. When people hear that chocolate is now healthy, they don't hear any of the other restrictions involved, and don't want to.
In fact, most people wouldn't want to change to a more bitter tasting chocolate and also cut out over 500 calories from their diets as they did in the studies.
Our diets already have enough sweets and this type of news only fuels the diabetic and obesity epidemics. This kind of medical news will only make most people add extra calories to their diets and increase their health problems.
These studies do look promising but there still is no information on how long these benefits last, how many phenols need to be eaten or how often.
Stick with the darkest chocolate, if you must, and balance out your calories.
Until we have more information, chocolate should remain a treat and not a treatment.
About The Author
Gerald Meyer More information on the benefits of green tea can be found at http://www.natural-weight-loss-programs.com/greentea.htm. Free trials green tea patches and instant beverages are available while supplies last. Find out the benefit of green tea for yourself today.
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Boost You Sex Life The Natural Way!
Boost You Sex Life The Natural Way!
by: Richard Moore
A look at some natural aphrodisiacs.
There are many well-known ways to boost a sagging libido, from oysters to zinc to Viagra. But what about some holistic alternatives?
First of all, with age our libidos go south -- estrogen, progesterone and especially testosterone in men and women," Cass said.
To combat a low sex drive, Cass first recommends eating right and getting enough fatty acids in your diet. "Fish oil particularly or flax oil because that's a precursor to the sex hormones."
There are a lot of herbs that actually enhance sexuality, Cass said. Here are a few:
Sex-Boosting Herbs
- Chrysanthemum
- Cistanches
- Cordyceps
- Epimedium (a mushroom)
- Jujube
You can get these herbs throught the shops on Everything Health and Beauty: http://www.everythinghealthandbeauty.9k.com...
Boost You Sex Life The Natural Way!
Chocolate > Boost You Sex Life The Natural Way!
Unique Wedding And Shower Candy Favors With Personalized Candy Wrappers
Unique Wedding And Shower Candy Favors With Personalized Candy Wrappers
by: Chris Robertson
One of the hottest wedding and shower favor ideas these days is candy. Personalized candy wrappers with your name and wedding details offer an alternative to the traditional tulle and ribbon wedding candy, the ubiquitous Jordan almond. Whether you choose a bar of Belgian chocolate wrapped in embossed foil or a chocolate candy rose with a personalized ribbon and tag, personalized candy favors are the kind of sweet treat that guests love to take home.
Most companies that offer personalized chocolate candy wrappers give you a wide variety of styles and kinds of candy to choose from. A particular favorite with many brides are miniature 1-inch square chocolate candy. Bright foil candy wrappers are stamped with brides, grooms, wedding bells and doves to further the happy couple?s wedding theme. Full size candy bars with personalized wrappers average about ...
Unique Wedding And Shower Candy Favors With Personalized Candy Wrappers
Chocolate > Unique Wedding And Shower Candy Favors With Personalized Candy Wrappers
toyo tires Is Chocolate That Healthy? Chocolate